Topics

Called up from the club's AHL affiliate in Binghamton Tuesday, the Senators winger couldn't have picked a better stage than the Bell Centre for his first NHL goal in the club's 4-3 OT victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

The puck is headed for a special place in Winnipeg.

"We had a pretty good forecheck going and (Matt) Kassian kind of made a good play to cover the middle," Stone said. "He kind of chipped it in on (Josh) Gorges and he kind of bobbled it in his stomach. I was able to poke it through him and I was just trying to get to the puck as fast as I could. I kind of just released it as quick as I could and I was pretty excited when it went in.

"There was more excitement than relief. I scored in the NHL so it's pretty exciting and a moment that I will never forget."

Stone, who had an assist on a goal by Jason Spezza in his first NHL game against the New York Rangers in the playoffs in 2012, has worked hard to improve his speed. That's always been a criticism.

"I think I've gained a step just switching to pro hockey," said Stone. "You have to be bigger and you have to learn to use your foot speed. I think I've gained a little more quickness than overall speed.

"That's kind of been my focal point over the last little bit is working on my foot speed."

Coach Paul MacLean said the hard work has paid off for Stone.

"He's better because he's played more and he shows his experience in the AHL," said MacLean. "The big thing for him is he's really done a whole lot of work on (his skating) in the last three years. That's really shown in his stride and his ability.

"He broke away from people (in the game) and on the goal he scored he really got separation from people. That's a credit to him and his hard work."

Called up from the club's AHL affiliate in Binghamton Tuesday, the Senators winger couldn't have picked a better stage than the Bell Centre for his first NHL goal in the club's 4-3 OT victory over the Montreal Canadiens.